U.S. Rep. John Conyers asks for Michigan review to get on primary ballot

8:42 PM, May 16, 2014

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Conyers has asked the Michigan Secretary of State to review his nominating petitions to be placed on the Aug. 5 Democratic primary ballot. / AP

Detroit Free Press Lansing Bureau

LANSING — U.S. Rep. John Conyers asked the Michigan Secretary of State Friday for a formal review of the nominating petitions he submitted, in an effort to get on the Aug. 5 primary ballot.

The Wayne County Clerk’s refusal to place the Detroit Democrat on the primary ballot is “factually and legally unsound,” Conyers’ attorneys wrote in their request for a review. The decision should be reversed and the “Secretary of State should rectify this grave error.”

Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett ruled earlier this week that Conyers’ petitions were insufficient to qualify for the ballot because at least three people gathering signatures were not properly registered to vote, a requirement of state law. Congressional candidates are required to have at least 1,000 valid signatures. Conyers turned in 2,000 and more than 700 were disqualified for a variety of reasons. Another 644 were thrown out because the circulators weren’t registered voters, leaving Conyers with only 592 valid signatures.

Garrett also disallowed some signatures from people who are clearly registered voters in the district, Conyers claims. An independent review of the petitions done by a firm hired by the Conyers’ campaign came up with more than 1,300 valid signatures on the petitions.

Two of the three circulators who were challenged had registered to vote at a voters’ fair in December and have documents to prove that, Conyers’ camp claims. But Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey has said those registrations didn’t come into the clerk’s office until late April.

“Any delay in processing their applications is due solely to the City Clerk’s office failing to do what it is legally obligated to do,” Conyers’ request for review claims. “The hundreds of validly registered electors that signed the petitions circulated by these two individuals cannot lawfully be disregarded due to the City Clerk office’s mistakes.”

Signatures collected by two other circulators were disqualified by Garrett’s office because they were registered to vote, but not at the address listed on the petition. Those 395 signatures also should be reinstated, Conyers argues.

The request for review is part of a three-pronged fight for the Conyers campaign: Appeal the Garrett ruling to the Secretary of State; fight the requirement that circulators be registered voters in federal court and prepare for the possibility of running as a write-in candidate.

It’s a critical fight for Conyers, who turned 85 on Friday, was first elected in 1964 and who has become a leading liberal and civil rights voice in Congress. Having to leave office because of a petition foul-up, which was caused by a campaign consultant who admitted in a blog post that he didn’t check the registration status of petition circulators he hired, would be an embarrassing end to a long and distinguished political career.

If he makes it on the ballot, Conyers will face Detroit Democrat the Rev. Horace Sheffield, who filed the challenge against Conyers’ petitions.

A hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday on the federal lawsuit filed by the ACLU and Conyers challenging the constitutionality of the registered voter requirement for circulators.

The Secretary of State is expected to complete its review by early June. The ballot must be set and certified by June 6.